I was born on Stagger Mountain in the sunshine and the snowAnd leavin' was the first mistake I made;But I hungered for the shadows in the valley down belowAnd the girl that danced the tune the devil played.Her smile was like the blindin' light of sunshine on the snowAnd the flashin' of her hair was black as sin.And her body set the smokes of hell a-boilin' in my skullWhen the fiddle of the devil made her spin.Morning sunshine [sunshine] high on the mountain,Where the air is pure and cold;But there's darkness in the shadowsIn the canyons of my soul.The lantern cast a shadow like a demon on the wallAnd the naked sweat was breathin' on her skin;Then the room was spinning closer as her clothes began to fallAnd the eagle started screamin' in my brain;Then I saw the laughin' dagger and I heard the devil screamAnd her bleeding heart was beating in my hand.Then the darkness blew away and I was standin' by a treeWith a hanging rope a-danglin' from a limb.Morning sunshine [sunshine] high on the mountain,Where the air is pure and cold;But there's darkness in the shadowsIn the canyons of my soul.